The Not-A-Date Date
by Armageddon Angel
Summary: Fairy Tail is hosting a Valentine's Day contest. Wendy would like to join but she doesn't have a partner. Enter Romeo. But this isn't a date, per se. It's just two people, who happen to be a boy and a girl, hanging out together on the most romantic day of the year. Nothing wrong with that, right? RIGHT?


**Hello boys and girls. I'd like to tell a story.**

**This is a story that's been in my head for about a year. I came up with this story while working on the Fairy Tail Project. Many people requested that I do a Rowen fic, specifically this story, and now, by popular demand, here it is.**

**This story takes place at the same time as my C is for Competitive in my Gruvia story. It's the same event told from Romeo and Wendy's perspective.  
**

**Well, enjoy.**

* * *

**The Not-a-date Date**

It was a normal day in Fairy Tail, well normal as normal can get in a guild like this one. There was drunken reveling, boisterous laughing and Natsu and Gray were fighting over something. Yep, just a normal day in Fairy Tail.

Wendy Marvell was in the guild that morning, sitting at one of the tables. She was writing a letter to her friend Chelia Blendy. Ever since the Grand Magic Games, they have constantly kept in contact through letters when neither of them could visit the other. Taking a moment to think, Wendy began to write.

_Dear Chelia,_

_How have you been? Things have been fine and normal around here. I have just finished a mission in the Aiylh Mountains. There was a focusing stone that only appears once every three years. It was so beautiful. You just had to see it. _

_Now I am back at the guild. Natsu-san and Gray-san are fighting again about something._

She was thinking about what else she was going to say to her when the fighting in the background had gotten more intense. The Sky Dragon Slayer turned around and saw that Gajeel and Elfman had also joined Natsu and Gray's fight. Apparently they were fighting each other to see who was the most romantic man. Of all the reasons to fight, this was by far the weirdest. However, it didn't bother the young mage much. She was already used to it. And Erza would soon come and end the fight.

Sure enough the knight did come. But the odd thing was that she didn't stop the fight. In fact, the red haired woman allowed it to continue. Wendy thought it was strange but she didn't dwell on it long.

Mirajane Strauss was the one who ended the fight by getting everyone's attention. She announced that Fairy Tail was going to have a romantic man contest to settle their fight once and for all.. She explained the rules and presented a sign up sheet. Nearly every guy signed theirs and their partners' name.

Wendy watched the scene with a smile on her face.

"What's going on here." A voice behind her asked.

Wendy smiled. She didn't have to turn around to know who was behind her. "Good morning, Carla." She greeted. "I think Mira-san is holding a Valentine's Day contest."

"Why?" Carla asked a bit curious as to how this came about.

"I think it has something to do with Natsu and the others fight." Wendy explained. "I wasn't paying attention. I was writing a letter. "

"Great." Carla muttered to herself. "It's just another excuse for these idiots to go overboard."

With her enhanced senses Wendy heard Carla's self musings. She chuckled a bit. Carla had a point. Fairy Tail doesn't really do anything halfway. In fact, they tend to go overboard. But it was a romantic man contest. How bad could it be really?

"I don't think it could be all bad." Wendy said. "In fact, I think it's kinda romantic."

"Have you forgotten Mustard Appreciation Day already?" Carla asked in a scoffing manner.

Actually, Wendy had. The Mustard Appreciation Day festival was a disaster. To be fair, Wendy had never heard of it but Levy found out about it while reading one of her books. And when she told everyone about it, the guild thought it would be a fun thing to celebrate mustard and all of the things it makes taste better. So the guild bought hundreds of liters of mustard. Unfortunately, they also bought hundreds of liters of alcohol. Drinking led to fighting and fighting led to mustard being thrown all over the place. Long story short, the guild smelled of mustard for weeks.

The young mage watched as all of the men had been signed up. Mira called all of the women over. Then, Freed Justine put a rune on them preventing the women from talking about ideas for the contest to their partners.

Wendy watched as every Fairy Tail couple left the guild. The guild felt oddly empty with most of the members gone. It made the Sky Dragon Slayer feel a bit lonely. Sure Carla was next to her and Mira was tending to what few people were here but without the normal ambient noise, Fairy Tail wasn't Fairy Tail.

Wendy decided that she needed a break from her letter writing. She went over to the bar.

"Ahh, Wendy-chan." Mira smiled from across the bar. "How are you?"

Wendy nodded. I am fine mirasan.

Mira smiled and handed Wendy her usual strawberry chocolate smoothie. Wendy thanked Mira and started drinking it. The sky dragon slayer noticed that the barmaid was organizing papers.

"What are those?" Wendy asked politely.

"Oh these. These are for the Valentine's Day contest in two days." Mira told her. "These are the couples' names. Afterwards what they do will be written down under the couples' names."

"I see." Wendy nodded.

"Isn't it romantic?" Mira sighed happily. "I can't wait to hear what ideas come out of this."

"How come you are not entering the contest?" Wendy asked.

"Because I am judging the contest and also I don't have a boyfriend." Mira said offhandedly.

Wendy was surprised. How could Mira not have a boyfriend? She was one of the prettiest women in Fairy Tail. She had many admirers everywhere, even in the guild.

"But Mira-san." Wendy gasped. "What about Macao-san and Wakaba-san?"

"Those two flirts?" Mira laughed. "Wakaba is a married man and Macao is dating another girl. As for going out with either of them, neither of them are interested in me that way. They are kinda the Natsu and Gray of their generation. And I'm just another piece to their eternal competition."

"Then what about Laxus-san and Freed-san?" Wendy asked. "I've seen them give you some strange looks sometimes."

Mira laughed mirthfully, a small blush forming on her cheeks. "How perceptive you've become of late, Wendy-chan." She smiled. "Yes I've seen them look at me differently but neither of them have come out and say anything yet. And I don't know what my own feelings are towards them. So I'm not going to pursue either of them right now."

Wendy nodded, having nothing to add.

"And how about you, Wendy?" Mira asked slyly. "Is there anyone who has caught the eye of the Sky Dragon Slayer?"

Wendy blushed hard. "No." She stammered. "No one like that."

Mira smiled. "Don't worry. You'll find someone someday."

Wendy said nothing after that. Instead she returned to her letter

Mira was about to go to serving the other guild members when the doors to Fairy Tail burst open. The barmaid would have guessed it was Natsu by the way the doors were opened. Perhaps it was no surprise that it was actually Romeo. After all, he was trying to emulate Natsu in every way.

"Hey Mira." Romeo shouted. "I'm back from my mission."

Mira smiled back at Romeo. "Glad you've returned safe, Romeo. She answered. "How did the mission go?"

"Great." The young fire Mage replied. "I found some lady's antique ring and she gave me a bonus for finding it so quickly."

"Nice." Mire responded. "Have a seat and I'll whip you up something."

"Thanks Mira." Romeo smiled. "You're the best."

Romeo took a seat next to Wendy who was still engrossed in her letter.

_Oh, Chelia. I just learned that Fairy Tail is holding a Romantic Man contest. Apparently, the guys are going to see who can come up with the best idea to spend the day with their girlfriends'. I have to say that I'm looking forward to it._

_Well, I will write to you soon._

_Wendy_

"Hey Wendy." Romeo greeted.

Wendy looked up from her letter and saw Romeo. "Oh good afternoon, Romeo-kun." Wendy smiled. "My apologies. I didn't notice you there."

"No worries. I just got here." Romeo chuckled.

Mira came back with a batch of freshly baked cookies and milk for the two youngest mages. "Here you two." Mira smiled. "Enjoy these. I must attend to everyone else."

Both Romeo and Wendy nodded in gratitude.

Romeo then turned to Wendy. "Hey Wendy." He began. "Where is everyone?"

"They are preparing for the contest." She answered.

The young fire mages eye's lit up. "A contest? Awesome." He shouted. "I think I'll join."

"I don't think you can join this one." Wendy told him.

Romeo furrowed his eyebrows. "Why not?" He asked.

Wendy blushed a bit before continuing. "The contest is for couples only." She whispered shyly. "The guys are trying to see who can be the most romantic for Valentine's Day."

Romeos cheeks were tinted red at the explanation. "Oh."

"Yeah." Wendy replied.

There was a very awkward silence between the two of them. They looked for something anything to talk about. Finally Romeo's eyes caught the piece of paper in front of Wendy.

"So what are you writing?" Romeo asked.

"It's a letter to my friend in Lamia Scale." Wendy answered thankful for finding something, anything else to talk about.

"Oh the Sky God Slayer girl." Romeo remembered. "The girl you fought in the Grand Magic Games, right?"

Wendy nodded. "We write each other letters whenever we can't see each other." The young girl explained.

"That's nice." Romeo smiled.

Wendy put down the pen she was using and folded up the letter. She then addressed the letter to Cheria. Then the wind mage took a deep breath and blew on the letter. Like magic, the letter flew out of the guild.

Romeo was impressed by what he had just seen. "Oh that was amazing." Romeo gasped. "How did you do that?"

Wendy looked down at the floor, a bit embarrassed by the complement. "It's just something Cheria and I came up with to transport letters. It's nothing really."

"I've never seen anything like it." Romeo continued gushing. "Can you teach me how to do that?"

Wendy felt like she was shrinking. She was not used to the excessive praise. "I don't think I can teach you Romeo." She admitted. "I'm sorry."

Romeo shook his head. "Nah don't worry about it. I wouldn't have the patience to write letters anyways." He laughed at his own joke. Wendy smiled too.

Romeo's laughter died down as he started taking in the form of the girl next to him. It was strange. They were around the same age and yet they have never really talked before. Wendy was usually hanging out with Natsu and the gang or with Carla. He was either with his dad or with Kinana. This is the first conversation that they've ever had. And he liked it.

"You know, Wendy." Romeo told the girl. "We should really hang out more."

Wendy was taken aback. "Really?" She asked.

Romeo grinned in a way that reminded her of Natsu. "Sure. I mean we're around the same age but we've never hung out before. "

Wendy smiled. "I'd like that."

"Great." Romeo grinned.

Mira just watched as the two youngest mages conversed some more. It may be too early but this could be the start of something more for them. She kept an eye on Romeo and Wendy while she served the rest of the guild.

They talked for another hour. The two of them talked about everything and nothing until Romeo jumped off the barstool.

"Well that was fun, Wendy." Romeo grinned. "But pops looks like he's dead drunk which means I gotta take him home. I'll see you tomorrow."

Wendy nodded. "See you tomorrow Romeo-kun."

Romeo walked over to his father and picked him up off of the ground. Putting him on his feet, the young fire mage and his father hobbled out of the guild Romeo supporting his drunk father along the way.

Wendy smiled at the two retreating forms. She had a nice talk with Romeo and it looked like they were on their way to becoming fast friends.

* * *

The next morning Romeo got up and out of bed. He found his father on the couch with a hangover. Taking pity on the old man he got his father some aspirin and a glass of water and left it on the coffee table. That being done, Romeo headed to Fairy Tail.

It was an odd sight, Romeo concluded. Fairy Tail was basically empty. He had never seen the guild like this before, not even during those awful seven years where they lost half their members.

Romeo noticed Mirajane behind the bar. He walked up to her.

"Mira, where is everybody?" Romeo asked.

Mira smiled. "Oh didn't Wendy tell you? All the guys are out planning their entry for the Valentine's Day contest."

Oh. Romeo said nonplussed. "I see." He nodded

"You should go out and see some of what they are planning." Mira told him. "Those guys have really good ideas."

Romeo shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't doing anything anyways and he wasn't keen on taking another mission since he just completed one. The young mage left Fairy Tail in search of the other guys.

* * *

Romeo found Alzack easily. He was by the memorial wall with his daughter, Asuka. He gave the young girl one of his guns.

"Now sweetie, this gun isn't loaded." He explained to the young girl. "But if you are going to be a gun mage like mommy and daddy, you are going to have to learn some appreciation for the gun." Alzack said.

Asuka pointed the gun everywhere. "Bang bang!" She said as she pulled on the trigger. The gun didn't fire because the safety was on. "Bang bang." She pointed the gun at invisible baddies and pretended that she shot them.

"Okay sweetie. Hand daddy the gun." Alzack said with his palm outstretched.

Asuka handed her father the gun.

"Okay." Alzack sighed. "Let's try spelling out Mommy's name."

Romeo watched as Alzack shot bullets into the ground in a way that spell Bisca's name. It was rather ingenious. The fire mage was impressed. He wondered if the other guys were going to do something like this. He went out searching for the others.

* * *

Romeo found Elfman near the forest. Surrounding him were a bunch of woodland creatures. There were some squirrels, a couple of rabbits, a deer, two wild horses and a bear. They were all making loud noises. It was freaking out Romeo. What was Elfman trying to do, he wondered.

"No no no." Elfman yelled at the animals. "You are all out of sync. This isn't manly at all. Bear, you need to be an octave higher. Squirrel 6, you are faster than the tempo. Rabbit alpha, you didn't even read the sheet music.

Romeo could sworn that the animals were grumbling. It was really weird.

"Okay from the top." Elfman commanded.

The animals whined and growled. It was a terrible sound. Was Elfman trying to get the animals to sing? The hell! Romeo thought it best to leave while he still had working eardrums.

* * *

Romeo found Gray and Lyon in the market district. Curiously, Lyon was making snow fall from his hands while Gray was making an ice statue. Gray obviously wasn't happy with the way the statue came out because he smashed it just as quickly.

"This is freakin' hard". Gray yelled. "Why is it so hard to shape her exact figure?"

"Because you suck at it." Lyon answered. "Here, watch me."

Lyon gathered magic in his hands and made an ice statue of a woman. It looked much better than Gray's. In fact, if Romeo didn't know better he would have thought it looked like Juvia.

"What the hell?" Gray growled. "How did you do that?"

"A man always knows the measurements of the love of his life." Lyon retorted with a cool smirk. "I know my Juvia-chan inside and out."

"Why the hell do you know my girlfriend's measurements?" Gray roared as he threw a solid right hook at Lyon.

The two ice mages started fighting. Romeo sighed and left them to their fight.

* * *

Romeo found Gajeel and Lily in the northwest section of the city. So far, Alzack, Elfman and Gray had weird ideas for the contest. But Gajeel had them beat by a country mile.

The Iron Dragon Slayer was... well, for lack of a better word... digging in the roads.

"Are you sure these won't go off randomly on civilians?" Lily asked.

"Gi hi." Gajeel laughed. "Then they shouldn't be on the road to begin with."

"But this is a public road." Lily reminded his partner.

"So?" Gajeel shrugged, not caring.

"What if someone gets hurt?" Lily told him.

"Not my problem." Gajeel grunted.

"And why do you feel the need to attack Levy on Valentine's Day?" Lily asked.

"I'm not attacking her." Gajeel explained. "These iron rods are to keep her on the right path. If she strays, they go off, preventing her from heading this way."

"Like a maze." Lily nodded.

"More like a puzzle." Gajeel clarified. "Levy likes puzzles."

Lily closed his eyes and chuckled.

Gajeel frowned at his Exceed partner. "The hell you laughing at?" He roared.

"I'm just thinking about all of the effort you are putting into this contest." Lily said simply.

"What's that suppose to mean? I wanna win." Gajeel snarled. "I refuse to be beaten by Salamander or that stripping freak."

"You keep telling yourself that." Lily smirked.

"Shaddup and help me with the next marker." Gajeel said with an upturned nose.

Lily nodded and went back to helping Gajeel.

Romeo had no clue what was going on but he left them to their thing.

* * *

He found Natsu outside of Lucy's place, pacing about with Happy.

"Damn Freed." Natsu roared. "Where the hell does he get off telling me I can't visit Lucy?"

"Now what?" Happy asked.

"I've got no idea." Natsu muttered. "And I won't be beaten by droopy-eyes and metal mouth."

"Well, it's like they always say: you hafta burn the forest to see the trees." Happy explained.

An idea popped in Natsu's head. "You're right. We should have a picnic." He shouted, slamming his fists together.

"That's perfect." Happy agreed. "Lucy's going to love it."

The two of them ran back to their house, leaving Romeo to wonder how Natsu got a picnic from burning trees. Then again, his idol's mind was an enigma. The younger fire mage left them to return to Fairy Tail.

* * *

Romeo was sitting at the bar inside the guild. He was thinking about all of the guys and their ideas for the contest, not that he had a clear picture of what they were actually doing. Alzack was shooting up something. Elfman was teaching animals how to sing. Gray was making ice sculptures. Gajeel was putting iron poles in the ground for some reason. And Natsu-nii was burning trees and having a picnic. This was turning out to be very weird.

"Good afternoon, Romeo-kun." A voice called out to him.

He turned around and saw Wendy standing in front of him with a smile.

"Hey Wendy." Romeo greeted. "Whatchu doing?"

"Relaxing." Wendy told him. "And I also want to see what kind of ideas the others are coming up with."

"Me too." Romeo replied.

Their conversation was cut short by a floating piece of paper. Wendy grabbed the paper.

"It's from Chelia." Wendy said to herself. She opened the letter and started reading aloud.

_Hey Wendy,_

_That contest sounds like an awesome idea. Maybe if I talk to Ooba-sama, she'll let Lamia Scale host one next year. Then Lyon will choose me to be his partner. (Yeah I have a thing for older men. You know me by now.)_

_Incidentally, have you seen Lyon? It seems as though Gray called him over for something. I don't understand. Gray has already taken Juvia as his girlfriend. So I wonder why he's over there._

_You should enter the contest and then tell me how it goes. But first, I think you should find a date. Someone cute. Well, that might be hard since many of the cute guys in your guild already have girlfriends. But I believe in you. You can find someone that suits you just fine._

_Well, send me a letter tomorrow to tell me of the juicy details. I'll be at the guild all week._

_Chelia_

Wendy finished the letter, her face beet red. "Me? Enter the contest? With a da...da...da...da...date?" Wendy's face blushed so hard, metaphorical steam came out of her ears. She muttered to herself, completely embarrassed that she read the letter out loud.

She looked at Romeo who was also blushing. "Uhmm... I... Well... That is..." He stuttered.

The two of them looked away due to the embarrassment of the letter.

"I'm sorry." Wendy whispered, blushing as she did so. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot."

"Nah, it's okay." Romeo blushed as well, scratching the back of his head. "You were only reading a letter."

"Yeah." The Sky Dragon Slayer sighed. " I guess it's just as well. I couldn't ask anyone to go with me. It'd be too embarrassing."

Romeo scratched his cheek. "Well... I mean... if you want... I guess... you and me..." He stammered.

Wendy turned around to look at the young fire mage's back. He was having trouble forming words. Her blushed intensified as every word came out of his mouth. She realized what he was trying to say.

"You mean like a date?" She squeaked.

Romeo shook his head profusely, his back still turned. "No, no." He said adamantly. "It not a date. It's can be a Not-A-Date date."

"A Not-A-Date date?" Wendy asked.

"Yeah. We enter the contest as friends, just two friends, who happen to be a boy and a girl, who hang out and do friends stuff together." Romeo explained, making sure to stress the word friends.

"You mean we enter the contest as friends?" Wendy blushed harder. "Not as boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Romeo turned around and gives Wendy a shy smile. "Sure. Something like that." He said.

Wendy's soft affirmative was barely heard by Romeo but he caught her nod.

"Alright then." Romeo said. "Let's go talk to Mira."

The two of them went over to the Fairy Tail bar where Mira was pouring beer from a dispenser into a large pitcher. Then she saw Romeo and Wendy coming over to her.

"Oh hello Romeo, Wendy." She greeted the two young mages. "Would you like me to get you two something?"

The two of them had a light dusting on their cheeks, something that didn't go unnoticed by the barmaid. "Oh, you two are blushing." She said while continuing to pour. "Why is that?"

"Uhm..." Romeo began. "Me and Wendy... we wanted..." Romeo couldn't even finish his thought.

"We wanted to enter the contest." The Sky Dragon Slayer blurted out.

Mira was completely shocked, so much so that she continued pouring even though she had finished filling the pitcher. It overflowed onto her hand. But that was ignored because of what she heard.

"What?" Mira yelled. "You two want to enter as a couple?"

Both of the young mages' cheeks were inflamed after that comment.

"No, no. Not as a couple." Romeo insisted. "Just as friends."

But Mira ignored his denial. "Is this the start of a new Fairy Tail couple? How adorable." She gushed, causing the two of them to blush even harder. "I didn't see this coming. But then again, you two have been lovey-dovey of late."

Wendy shook her head vehemently. "No, no." She tried to deny it. "We are just friends."

"Well, of course you two can enter the contest." Mira said in an effusive manner while writing their names on the paper with all of the other participants. "Oh puppy love is so adorable."

Romeo and Wendy's faces looked like they were hit by Natsu's magic. Neither of them were unable to refute the insinuations of the barmaid. They were just so embarrassed by Mira's implication.

Romeo turned to Wendy but his eyes were on her feet and his face was in permanent blush mode. "So how 'bout we meet up at the town square at 10 tomorrow?" He said softly.

Wendy, also unable to look her friend in the eye, nodded vigorously. "Sure." Wendy squeaked.

"Cool." The young fire mage replied.

Without any further embarrassment, Romeo Conbolt walked out of the guild, leaving a very embarrassed Wendy and a gushing Mirajane behind.

* * *

Wendy was waiting at the town square. She was very nervous and she couldn't explain why. This wasn't a date. This was two friends hanging out with each other...two friends around the same age...two friends who happen to be a boy and a girl. But it wasn't a date...right? RIGHT? **RIGHT?**

Wendy spent a long time deciding on what to wear for today. It was the oddest thing. The Sky Dragon Slayer wasn't as fashion-conscious as Lucy or confident in herself as Erza. She never really paid attention to what she wore before. But for some reason, today she cared. She discarded eighteen outfits because she didn't know what kind of statement she wanted to make with them. Did she want to look cute today? Did she want to look adventurous? Did she even want to make a statement at all? This had to be the hardest decision she ever made in her life. In the end, she decided on a purple sundress that Lucy bought for her on her birthday. She tied her hair in twin tails and fastened them with her usual cone rollers.

Waiting with the Sky Dragon Slayer was her best friend, Carla. The white Exceed was pretending like she didn't care but inside she wasn't happy. She wasn't keen on letting Wendy hanging out with Romeo, not because he was a bad guy or something. But today is Valentine's Day, the most romantic day of the year. And her friend was spending it with a boy. Not only that, it was part of a Fairy Tail contest and those idiots had a way of going way over the top with all of their celebrations. And if she knew anything about Fairy Tail, something was going to be destroyed.

Moments later, Wendy could see Romeo Conbolt coming towards her. Just like her, he was sort of dressed up. Instead of his usual Natsu-like attire, he is dressed in a purple polo shirt and beige khakis. His hair was brushed and matted down. If Wendy didn't know better, she would have thought he was going out on a date. But the young fire mage still had on his scarf. That was a relief to Wendy as it made his appearance less formal.

"Hey Wendy." Romeo shouted as he waved at her.

"Good morning, Romeo-kun." Wendy smiled.

Romeo noticed that Wendy wasn't alone. Carla was with her. "Morning, Carla." He greeted.

The white Exceed made a hmph sound and turned her head away.

Wendy gave Romeo a nervous smile. "Carla, be nice." She begged.

"Whatever." Carla huffed.

There was a very long silence hanging above them. Then Carla flew directly next to Romeo's ear. "You better take care of her." She whispered into the young fire mage's ear.

"Okay." Romeo said. Then he turned to Wendy "Let's go find something to do."

Wendy nodded and the two of them went out in search of some fun leaving a cross-armed Exceed behind.

* * *

There were many events happening around Magnolia today as part of Valentine's Day. An ice cream vendor gave the two of them free cones because she thought that they were a couple. A man gave them free heart shaped balloons. They got their caricatures drawn by a female artist.

And all the while, they could hear the whispers. Old women giggling when they saw Romeo and Wendy walking side by side together on Valentine's Day. Younger women cooing at how cute they looked together. Shopkeepers kept giving free stuff to them. Everyone thought they were a couple. They tried to deny the implications but after the fifth time, they stopped being bothered by it.

By mid-noon, the couple made their way to the river that runs through the city. A man was renting pedal boats out to couples. When he saw Romeo and Wendy together, he immediately thought they were an item and, because he thought they were so cute, allowed them free use of one of his boats. The two of them, although they were embarrassed, took the nice man on their offer.

It was a beautiful day for a boat ride. Romeo and Wendy were really enjoying the ride.

"This is really nice." Wendy said with a smile on her face. "I am really enjoying today."

Romeo turned to her and gave a powerful grin. "Me too." He said while pedaling.

"You know, you were right." Wendy told him.

Romeo was confused. "About what?"

"That we should hang out more." Wendy responded. "I mean Natsu-san's team is nice but lately I feel like I'm a third wheel."

The young fire mage furrowed his eyebrows. "How so?" He asked.

"Well Natsu-san is finally with Lucy-san." She explained. "And Gray-san is with Juvia-san. And Erza-san goes off on her missions with Jellal-san. So whenever I go on missions with them, I feel like the odd girl out."

"Oh." Romeo breathed. Then, he let out a laughing breath. "But wouldn't that technically make you the fifth wheel?"

Wendy chuckled. "I guess it would."

Romeo then pounded his fist into his open palm. "I've got an idea." He said. "Why don't we go out on some missions sometimes? It'll be fun."

"That sounds like a great idea." Wendy responded. "We can work together as a team."

"Great." Romeo replied. "Oh, and Carla can come too." He replied as an afterthought.

Wendy laughed at Romeo's unintentional joke.

The two of them continued pedaling along the river towards the dam. Romeo had his hand in the water. It felt cool on his skin. As they were pedaling, an odd idea came to his head. With a little bit of effort, he expelled some magic from his hand. And because Newton's Third Law of Motion states that for every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction, the boat moved forward a bit, shaking the boat.

Wendy felt the boat jerk forward. "What was that?" She asked, a bit thrown off by the sudden movement.

"Woah, I didn't know it would do that." Romeo responded.

"Do what?" She said, looking at him.

"Well, I put a bit of magic in my hands and just let it out of my palm." The young fire mage explained. "And then we moved forward."

"Why would you do that?" She asked.

Romeo shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno." He answered simply. "I wonder if it will happen again?"

"No, wait." She pleaded.

Romeo put a little more magic into his hand and put it in the water. When he expelled the magic, the boat move. However, since the magic was only to one side, the boat moved around in a circle. Wendy, who was unprepared, jerked forward in her seat.

Romeo was laughing so hard, he had to hold on to his sides. Wendy, however, was a bit nervous. "Romeo-kun!" She shrieked. "Don't do that."

"Oh come on, Wendy. Don't be like that." He said. "It's fun."

"No it isn't." She whined. "I don't want to get this dress ruined."

"Don't worry about the dress." Romeo told her. "Live a little. Have fun. Make memories from taking risks. That's what my dad says anyways."

Wendy had to admit that that was some sage advice. Perhaps that is the reason why Natsu and the others have so much fun on their missions. They went all out and damn the consequences. Many times, this resulted in something being destroyed. But even that was a happy memory.

"Okay." Wendy relented. "I'll do it."

Taking a deep breath, Wendy put her hand into the water and gathered magic into her hands. As she exhaled, the Sky Dragon Slayer expelled the magic, propelling the boat forward.

Wendy had to admit that it felt pretty good. She started giggling.

"See?" Romeo laughed along with her. "It was fun, right?"

"Yes." She agreed. "It was fun."

Another idea came to Romeo's head. "I've got an even better idea." He said. "Let's do it together. I'll take the left side. You take the right."

Wendy nodded. "Okay."

The two of them put their hands in the water.

"On three." Romeo told her.

"One." He counted.

"Two." Wendy said.

"Three." They shouted together.

The two of the pooled magic into their hands and expelled it through their hands. The boat propelled like a shot.

Romeo and Wendy were yelling. It was amazing. The wind against their skins, the water spraying them on their faces, the shaking of the boat as it sped across the river... it was exciting and terrifying at the same time. They couldn't contain their glee as the boat practically soared.

"More, more." Romeo shouted as he held onto the sides of the boat.

"Alright." She agreed.

They put their hands in the water. This time, they poured even more magic in their hands and expelled it forcefully, causing the boat to go even faster.

The boat moved quicker and quicker, almost skipping across the water. Exhilarating was the thought that came through their minds. Romeo and Wendy closed their eyes in order to just feel. And it was fun. They were having so much fun that they weren't paying attention to where they were going. If they were, they would have realized that they were heading for the dam.

When Romeo opened his eyes, he saw the dam fast approaching. That snapped him back to reality.

"Wendy, Wendy." Romeo shouted. "Look."

Wendy opened her eyes. She saw the dam and screamed. "We're heading right for it." She yelled.

"We have to stop the boat." He told her.

"Right." Wendy agreed.

The two of them put their feet to the pedals and tried to pedal backwards. However, the pedals didn't respond.

"We have to get out of the boat." Wendy yelled.

The two of them jumped out of the boat mere moments before it crashed into the dam. The impact caused a small hole in it, allowing water to pour out.

Romeo and Wendy resurfaced and saw the damage they had done to the dam. As they were treading water, a sudden trepidation came over them. They knew that they were going to be in trouble for what they did.

Romeo turned to Wendy.

"Guild?" He asked.

"Guild." She nodded her head.

The two of them swam to the shore and ran towards the safety of Fairy Tail.

* * *

The guild was bustling with excitement and very satisfied women. Mirajane stepped up on the stage and took the microphone in her hand.

"Well, I must say that the judges and I are truly impressed with the entries." She squealed in delight. "Who would have thought we had so many Casanovas in Fairy Tail?"

A loud cheer erupted from the guild.

"And now for the results."

She pulled an envelope from her skirt pocket.

"In third place, Romeo and Wendy with their paddleboat ride around Magnolia River."

Romeo blushed and looked away while Wendy hugged the young Fire Mage joyfully. There was a collective "Awww" from the guild.

"A chip off the ol' block." Macao guffawed. "I knew my son was a Ladies' Man just like his old man."

"As if, you old goat." Wakaba countered. "When was the last time you've been with a woman?"

Mira ignored the fighting and continued. "Romeo and Wendy have won tickets to Barona Amusement Park." She smiled.

"Second place goes to ... Elfman and Evergreen with their animal symphony."

"Not bad, huh Ever." Elfman grinned. "A man always comes out on top in the art of romance. Man."

Evergreen responded by hitting the Takeover mage over the head with her fan.

"We were suppose to win first, you idiot." She berated. "How can you call yourself a man when there was someone who beat us?"

Mira ignored the painful beating her brother was receiving. "They just won a trip to Vesperia Spa."

Evergreen stop hitting Elfman. "Vesperia Spa?" She questioned "You mean the ultra-exclusive spa that has a nine month waiting list and cost about as much as 3 S-mission pays?"

"The one and the same." Mira answered with her famous smile.

The bespectacled woman sighed. "You know, maybe second place isn't all that bad. What do you think, Elfman?"

Elfman didn't respond as he was smacked into unconsciousness.

"And now for first place."

The guild was on the edge of their seats.

"First prize goes to Natsu and Lucy, Gray and Juvia, and Gajeel and Levy." Mira cheered. "You three men are really romantic. Even Erza was impressed."

Loud clapping thundered in the guild.

"But nothing has been resolved." Natsu whined.

He would have said more but the guild doors slammed open.

Mirajane looked in the direction of the entrance.

"Good afternoon, Master." She greeted with a smile.

The Master didn't acknowledge her greeting as he made his way to the stage. Everyone was silent as the Master cleared his throat.

"You damn brats." Makarov yelled. "I was just talking with the mayor of Magnolia. You brats went overboard again."

The men of the contest gulped.

"Alzack, you riddled the memorial wall with bullets." He started. "Elfman, your wild animals are still on the loose. Romeo, you put a crack in the Magnolia dam that had to be repaired. Natsu, you burnt half of the forest and uprooted the other half of the trees. Gray, your ice melted and flooded the market square. Gajeel, you tore up 37 roads with your iron."

Each of the men hung their heads in shame.

"And yet, I am so proud of you." The old man smiled. "The children of Fairy Tail go all out with their feelings. I was very proud of each and every one of your ideas. It warms my heart to know that the feelings that all of you have are strong enough to manifest like this."

A loud cheer emanated from the members. They were congratulating each other when a middle aged balding man enter the guild and handed the guild master a piece of paper. He clutched the paper and then his chest.

"15 million jewels for damages?" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Everybody, haul ass." Natsu yelled

Everyone ran out of the guild in all haste lest they face the wrath of their tiny master.

* * *

Romeo and Wendy ran out the guild together, hand in hand. It was odd. They should be frightened of Master Makarov and his wrath. And though they were, the two of them couldn't help but laugh because they had so much fun today.

When they were a ways from the guild, Romeo and Wendy came to a stop. They still had a grin on their face.

"Well, today was fun, right?" Romeo asked.

"It was. I had a really good time today." Wendy smiled.

"We really should hang out some more." Romeo told her.

"Well, we did win the trip to the amusement park." Wendy reminded her friend. "We should make plans to go sometime this week."

"Yeah." Romeo agreed. "It'll be fun."

There was a comfortable silence between them. That's when they noticed that they were holding hands. Romeo and Wendy both pulled back their hands as if they were burned, a powerful blush on their faces. They both looked at the ground, unable to say anything or look at the other.

"Wendy." A loud voice called out into the night.

The girl looked in the direction of the voice to see Carla looking sullenly at the two of them.

"Carla." Wendy answered back.

"I heard what you and that hooligan did to the dam." She said, full of righteous anger. "I'd expect that of Natsu or the kid but not from you."

Wendy looked crestfallen. "I'm sorry."

"Let's go." Carla demanded. "You need to write an apology note to the mayor of the city for the destruction of the dam."

"Oh come on." Romeo sighed and rolled his eyes. "It was just a small hole."

"You stay out of this, hooligan." Carla harped. "Come on, Wendy."

Wendy realized that it wasn't a good idea to argue with Carla, especially when she was in the wrong. She turned to Romeo. "I'll see you tomorrow, Romeo-kun. Thanks for everything today."

And then, without even thinking about it, Wendy's lips brushed up against Romeo's cheek. Then she ran over to Carla and walked with her to the girl's dorm. The white Exceed asked her why she had a blush on her face but the Sky Dragon Slayer ignored her.

Romeo just stood with his mouth agape. He put a hand on his cheek. It was just for a moment but he felt it. It was a kiss. A kiss.

The young fire mage giggled like a maniac. It was a kiss, his first kiss. Romeo couldn't help but laugh out loud. His first kiss... and he liked it. It was the metaphorical cherry on such an awesome day.

Romeo couldn't help but think. An awesome day with an equally awesome friend winning an awesome prize and getting his first kiss. Not bad for what was suppose to be a not-a-date date.

* * *

**Well, that's that. That was their entry in the Romantic Man contest.**

**This date was inspired by my first date with my girlfriend. Actually, I coined the word not-a-date. I was so nervous and afraid of rejection that I didn't even call it a date. We took paddle boats out on a lake and we tried going as fast as we could until we crashed it and it sank into the lake. Needless to say, we didn't get our deposit back. And the last part was almost verbatim what happened after I took her home. Of course, she didn't have a talking flying cat. That part was was taken by her father.**

**So... Liked it? Hated it? Have no opinion whatsoever? Leave me a review.**

**Well, now that that's done, I can finally get back to the project.**

**Peace out.**

**A. Angel**


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